Bubba Wallace fires back at Kyle Petty for calling his behavior 'unacceptable'

Bubba Wallace doesn’t sound too concerned with Kyle Petty’s criticism. The NASCAR chirped back at the NBC analyst, who called out Wallace for his “unacceptable” actions prior to last weekend’s race at Daytona.

Prior to Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400, Wallace and Ty Gibbs declined to provide pre-race, pre-taped interviews. Petty, a former driver-turned-analyst, called out both drivers for their actions.

“For professional athletes to refuse interviews is unacceptable in any game,” Petty said, via NBC Sports. “Unacceptable to your fans. Unacceptable to the sport. It’s just not — Ty Gibbs did the same thing. He didn’t want to do an interview. 

“I don’t know how these guys think that’s acceptable in any world because that’s what you’re here for. That’s what they pay you the money for. And it’s that stupid saying — that’s why you make the big bucks, dude. You got to handle it. Put it on your shoulders and carry it. If mentally he is that fragile, then maybe this is not the game for him. You know, honestly.” 

Wallace entered Saturday’s race just above the cut line for the playoffs. So, heading into the final regular season race of the 2023 NASCAR season, he had some stress. He decided not to take the interviews prior to the big event.

“That was the most important thing,” Wallace said. “As much as talking to media is really important, I’m sorry [but] y’all don’t pay my bills.”

“You get back and you see that ‘Bubba Wallace is mentally fragile and doesn’t want to do interviews,’ and [my response was] I was good,” Wallace said, per Racing News. “I could have stayed on pit road [after the race] and talked to y’all for hours but I guess people handle their stress differently because absolutely, I was stressed to the max. I’ve never been stressed like that before. I’ve never been in this situation before.”

Wallace snuck into the playoffs, earning the 16th and final spot in the field after finishing 12th at Daytona. He didn’t record a win at any point during the regular season, meaning he had to rely on his points standing to reach the postseason.

This weekend, NASCAR heads to Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500 on Sunday, Sept. 3. The green flag drops at 6 p.m. ET and coverage airs on USA Network. It marks the first race in NASCAR’s 2023 playoffs.